THE FOSTORIA, OHIO, EXPERIENCE

[al-in-chgo]

Hi, I've gotten back from Fostoria and here is some accounting of what we saw.  I'm not going to recreate all the info the first-time fanner would need; a lot of that is on FostoriaIronTriangle.com.  Fostoria got its nickname "IRON TRIANGLE" from the three sets of double-diamonds different railways cross, and that is the connection with fanning. 

When my traveling companion and I signed into the local Best Western we were each given a HUGE welcome packet of all things Fostorian, especially the trains!  Among the goodies was a schematic map of how the triangles intersect. Think of a triangle (duh):  the left bottom is where Nickle Plate Road and B&O intersect (Fostoria folks as well as fanners use the heritage names).  Think of lines of a triangle as constituting a map, and you have B&O running left to right (west to east), intersecting with NS, which goes up southeast to northwest southwest to northeast on an acute angle, rightward-bent, to the north.  We're not supposed to fan on the premises of the old B&O/Amtrak depot because it is CSX property, but we fanned set up camp across the street in a gravel parking lot and no one bothered us.  Expect several B&O runs for each NKP run.

Follow the NKP line up, at an acute angle bending to the right, and you'll find the apex of the triangle, where it double-diamonds the old C&O line N-S thru Ohio.  Think of the generally straight C&O line forming the right-handed "leg" of the diamond and the southeast-to-northwest  southwest to northeast-running NKP intersecting.  Although there are no formal facilities at any of the diamonds, some kind people put a bench and a porta-pottie right there* (highway-wise, it's the intersection of Columbus and Crocker Streets at the NKP tracks, just across the NKP tracks of the long-abandoned PORK PRODUCTS building. That's double-diamond no. 2.

Finally go south along the C&O to where it meets the East -West B&O.  Your Triangle is complete.  A two-story brick tower, actively staffed, is right at the notch of those double-diamonds, and fanners have been specifically warned NOT to go there; CSX property.  We managed to get a fairly good spot nearby without stepping on toes. 

It is a pecularity to me (but not, perhaps, to my geometry teacher in high school), that when you stand at any of the three iron double-diamonds, you can see the third line in middle distance.  Enough to see what you're missing, but not quite enough to photograph.  Very frustrating at times!   Most people say the traffic runs in decreasing order, as B&O, C&O and NKP; we saw more C&O traffic than B&O.   We saw TOFC's, COFC's (both skids and wells), unit trains (stone as well as coal), manifests (with lots of boxcar and autorack graffiti for the interested) -- in fact, the biggest percentage of trains was autorack.  Under CSX, the B&O--C&O junction is fully equipped with four "slip ramps" so the SB C&O can hang a right onto the EB B&O, and all the other combinations. 

We were told what we witnessed was slow for the time we spent.  In about sixteen hours of fanning, total, we saw about fifty-five trains "up close and personal," and about thirty from a frustrating distance (darn!).  The upcoming Monday holiday (Mem. Day) was blamed.  Still, when the trains ran, they ran well; and we even had a meet EB-WB B&O near the depot.  Up to 180 trains through Fostoria has been mentioned as the top, with an average of about 110.  Calculating what we saw on a 24-hour basis, and all other variables the same, that would translate to about 75 to 80 trains up close and forty-odd at a distance.  We also met people from all over -- a predominance of Ohioans, of course, but also a gent from England who is going to go up to Battle Creek, MI, to ride the train to Chicago and then the Southwest Chief to the vicinity of the Grand Canyon. 

Imagine having Fostoria at the same level of tourist popularity as the Grand Canyon!  Well, the town, town planners, business people, and the historical society* strive to be RR-fan friendly. It seems they all support condemnation of the Pork Products plant and the reclamation of "Boneyard" property adjacent, all with the idea of establishing a Rochelle-like RR park.  Only bigger.  All this presumes that the EPA will check out the "Boneyard" and clear it for occupation.   The welcome pack was a wonderful surprise -- [BTW it also contained an Ohio map showing color-coded train lines!]  The residents are nice, small-town friendly.  At about 15,000 people, Fostoria is a larger town than Rochelle, Ill.,  but does not offer as much variety of retail, food and lodging.  (To be fair, Fostoria is about thirty miles from the nearest Interstate Highway.)  Sadly, the town of Fostoria appears to be in a state of long-term, slow decline; perhaps a new RR park would bring more people and more dollars in. 

     *FostoriaIronTriangle.com.  A kind member got a porta-pottie and a bench installed at the C&O/NKP diamonds, but otherwise there are no services.  This would be the main entrance of any future RR watchers' park.

SOOooo, was it worth the six-hour drive from Chicago and several nights' lodging?  Absolutely.  I'll do it again, maybe next year.  

Thank you all who have helped with Fostoria information, and special thanks to Joe Koh for his helpfulness and knowledge of the region.   --   a. s.

 

[JoeKoh]

did you get to see any ns/csx transfers? did you cruise by the mixing center on rt 12? the railfan park is going to be located closest to the c&o nkp diamond.were you able to stop by deshler on the way home? glad you had a great time.

stay safe

Joe

[al-in-chgo]

did you get to see any ns/csx transfers? did you cruise by the mixing center on rt 12? the railfan park is going to be located closest to the c&o nkp diamond.were you able to stop by deshler on the way home? glad you had a great time.

stay safe

Joe

 

None of the above, I'm afraid, but we did have fun.  - a.s.

 

[CShaveRR]

Nice, thorough report, Al!  Actually, in your triangle the NS would go southwest-to-northeast.

Did the map show how the former New York Central line used to cut through the triangle, too?  That would have been a southeast-to-northwest line, close to the C&O side of things.

An old control board from F Cabin is in one of the rooms of the depot down at Marion, Ohio (nice place to visit if you should hit the area again).

I take it the B&O/NKP diamonds had been changed out by the time you got there.

(I usually sit near the C&O/NKP diamonds when I visit Fostoria, which puts the B&O tracks a short distance away if something interesting should pass through there.)

[MP173]

There was a Trains issue several years ago with detailed map and information about Fostoria.  I cant put my hands on the issue now, but it was a late 1990's or early 2000's.  In fact it might be on the Trains.com site under hot spots.

Personally, I have never been there, but sure did enjoy listening in on the web scanner while it lasted.  The NKP line goes thru my town (Valparaiso, In) about 200 miles east and the B&O line passes a few miles north of me.  It was very interesting to hear trains which pass thru Fostoria and Valpo and compare the elapsed time between the points. 

There is a real flow of traffic thru Fostoria and to listen in was really fascinating.  Pretty cool dispatchers and operators at the tower.  It seemed like the tower operator really controlled things thru the area.

I got so interested in listening that I picked up copies of CSX employee timetables which covered the area.  It made great listening in on winter days when there wasnt too much to do.

ed

[al-in-chgo]

Nice, thorough report, Al!  Actually, in your triangle the NS would go southwest-to-northeast.

Did the map show how the former New York Central line used to cut through the triangle, too?  That would have been a southeast-to-northwest line, close to the C&O side of things.

An old control board from F Cabin is in one of the rooms of the depot down at Marion, Ohio (nice place to visit if you should hit the area again).

I take it the B&O/NKP diamonds had been changed out by the time you got there.

(I usually sit near the C&O/NKP diamonds when I visit Fostoria, which puts the B&O tracks a short distance away if something interesting should pass through there.)

Oops!  I struck through the offending compass directions and put the correct directions in boldface instead.

Thanks for calling the error to my attention.  - a.s.

[t.winx]

There was a Trains issue several years ago with detailed map and information about Fostoria.  I cant put my hands on the issue now, but it was a late 1990's or early 2000's.  In fact it might be on the Trains.com site under hot spots.

Personally, I have never been there, but sure did enjoy listening in on the web scanner while it lasted.  The NKP line goes thru my town (Valparaiso, In) about 200 miles east and the B&O line passes a few miles north of me.  It was very interesting to hear trains which pass thru Fostoria and Valpo and compare the elapsed time between the points. 

There is a real flow of traffic thru Fostoria and to listen in was really fascinating.  Pretty cool dispatchers and operators at the tower.  It seemed like the tower operator really controlled things thru the area.

I got so interested in listening that I picked up copies of CSX employee timetables which covered the area.  It made great listening in on winter days when there wasnt too much to do.

ed

That would be awesome to regularly compare travel times. I was able to do this with the Fort Mad. cam and the La Plata cam on the transcon a few times, but it was difficult, and I can't get the La Plata camera to work right anymore. Those Z's really fly!

It's fun comparing when the trains go through each day. CSX and NS are surprisingly very regular, even the manifests. I really wish they had live radio somewhere on the ex-CR NS Chicago Line. That line has always been the most interesting to me, and seems primed for growth. Never much down time either.